This site has been inspired by the work of Dr David Korten who argues that capitalism is at a critical juncture due to environmental, economic and social breakdown. This site argues for alternatives to capitalism in order to create a better world.

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Friday, March 19, 2010

Vegetarianism and Climate Change

It appears that we live in this world without knowing how to live in it. But now is the defining moment to know it because we are the culprits who have disturbed the symmetry between growth and environment and have grossly neglected the most important problem of global warming. Every one of us should do our bit to tackle this problem so that future disasters can be averted.

In this context, we should realize that meat eating contributes to global warming to a great extent. Studies reveal that rearing livestock for food and meat production generates more greenhouse gases, approximately 18 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the world. This is more than all the pollution created by all the vehicles in the world.

The methane generated by the livestock industry is an alarming 37 per cent of the total methane produced and you may not be aware that methane contributes 22 times more to global warming than carbon-dioxide.

The environmental damage caused by the livestock industry happens through deforestation, erosion, air pollution, spreading of diseases and water pollution. Cattle, during their digestive process, produce enormous amounts of methane. Further for the sake of fodder for the growth of cattle and for having cattle farms, lands and forests are being destroyed.

For transporting animal based foods, a lot of fossil fuels are being consumed. Many ocean fisheries have been over-used and hence have got depleted and this endangers oceanic ecosystems.

If you consider all the above and become a vegetarian, you get immense benefits out of it. You can get all the vitamins and minerals from vegetarian food. Fresh fruits, vegetables, wholesome grains, nuts and a host of other vegetarian foods will not only increase your health but keep away certain major diseases like heart diseases, blood pressure, obesity and even cancers of the colon, prostate and breast.

Hence by becoming a vegetarian, you can save our planet from disasters due to global warming and our progeny will inherit a habitable place from us.

Raman Kuppuswamy is a management thinker and writer. He writes highly informative and educative articles on VARIOUS SUBJECTS INCLUDING Business, management, customer satisfaction and a host of other things related to business. He has written several articles on HubPages. Kindly visit http://hubpages.com/profile/dreamdamodar and read his other articles.